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Daily Focus Cleanse 4.0

Pre-Cleanse Focus A Lit Intention

Body Love is an essential aspect to this cleanse. Start the day with warm/hot lemon water and sip on it throughout the day. At some point today or tonight, take a moment to hand write your intention (word or phrase) on a piece of paper. Light a candle and place the paper underneath or next to the candle to illuminate and give light to your intention. Take a few deep breaths. Notice how your body responds to candle light, how your eyes perhaps feel more ease. In the same way your intention can hold purpose and light as you feel a sense of ease around all of it. This is the way to embodiment.

Day 1 |  Your Word Matters

Being impeccable with our word is a powerful teaching in The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  I return to this spiritual teaching today as we start our cleanse.  Having a word of focus or intent — for your cleanse or for 2022 can be a powerful anchor for us.  So what does it mean to be impeccable?  A word can’t really be all dapper with a pocket square.  One way to consider the idea of being impeccable is to align with your own divinity.  We return to a sense of grace that is within us, clearing the debris that interrupts our essence. 

JOURNAL

• What is your intention for this cleanse? How does this intention make you feel in your body? How do you feel in your environment of home/work/social life when in alignment with your intention?

• What is one limiting belief that you would like to release on this cleanse? Write it on a post card or post it note. Write the opposite meaning on the other side.

ACTION

• As you prepare your meal today and sit down to eat, remember your word. Can the food you eat embody and nourish.

• TOMORROW MORNING - if you don’t already do this, begin your day with warm lemon water. Do this at least 30 minutes before taking any caffeine. (Yes, that means coffee). This is one way to align your word. The very first action of your day moving forward can be a simple one like this. This ritual is a kind act for our body.

Day 2 | Food is Information

In his book, Clean Eats, Dr. Junger (who developed The Clean Program) describes food as information.  That it serves as more than just fuel for our body to function.  There is information in food and the genetic gene pool of our body will respond according to that information depending on what we eat.  ‘Every bite we eat contains information that tells our genes how to express themselves.  Food literally has the ability to turn our “good” genes on and our “bad” genes off.  This is called “gene expression’ and the study of it is known as epigenetics.’

Nutrient rich, whole foods nourish our body and our immune function on a cellular level.  As we are on this journey, take a moment and think about some of the healthy foods you enjoy and create rituals to support.

JOURNAL

• Write a letter to your body. Acknowledge any way you’ve neglected your body. Describe some of the things you are doing now to take care of your body - foods you plan to eat, yoga, physical therapy, rest.

• Ritual of a Daily Reflection. Create a daily reflection on a sticky note. Place it where you will see it every day during our cleanse. Here are a few ideas: ‘I value my body and feed it nourishment'‘. ‘I feel great because I am eating nutrient rich foods and balancing a healthy lifestyle every day — which includes having pizza and pasta sometimes.’ ‘I love my body and am helping it heal.’

RECIPE INSPO

• Vegetarian Sheppard’s Pie

Day 3 | Mind Mapping & Ayurvedic Tools

Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, offers many healing tools for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Today Andrea Emmerich led our chat, sharing her knowledge as an ayurvedic healer for the past twenty years.  Check out the full talk in our demand video today (located in the portal).  Sometimes referred to as our second brain, our gut can inform a tremendous part of how are body functions and our overall well-being.  Today we are bringing back the Liver Tonic recipe that I hope you will try while on your cleanse.  This recipe helps to eradicate bile sludge that is produced by the liver and gets stored in the gall bladder.  See recipe below along with other ayurvedic tools to incorporate into your day to day life.

ACTION

• Drink Warm Lemon Water in the morning at least 30 minutes before caffeine.

• Tongue Scraping - get a tongue scraper and practice this each morning before you brush your teeth.

• Oil Pulling - using coconut oil or an oil made for oil pulling, hold about 1 T oil in your mouth and swish fro 5-20 minutes. Be sure to expel the oil in a waste basket and not in your sink. The oil will harden and could create problems if you put it in the sink.

RECIPE INSPO

• Liver Tonic - Using equal parts: apple, red beets, celery and 1 cup water, bring to a boil and then blend the mixture into a liver tonic.

These tools are incredibly nourishing for our gut health.  We can drink lemon water to help make our body more alkaline and we can oil pull to expel bacteria and improv the microbiome of the mouth, but what about our mind??  Our oh so troubled brain that whether we like it or not has a stream of incessant thoughts, the majority of which can be harmful.  Today, Andrea suggested that we try something called Mind Mapping to create awareness and open up the path to healing these samskaras  or impressions of the mind.

JOURNAL

• Mind Mapping - spend 5 minutes writing out your stream of conscious thoughts. As a suggestion, do this every day for the the rest of the cleanse. Once you gather a couple of weeks of intel, you will see there are patterns going on that can be addressed. We may come back and review these later.

Day 4  | I Love You. Keep Going.

If we bring in the perspective of love to what we are doing in any moment, it changes the quality of our experience in that moment. In todays Power + Yin practice, we explored the balance of what it means to ‘keep going.’ Sometimes this means we bring more energy to the practice. Other times it means keep modifying. Ultimately it means stay present in this moment. All of these ways hold value as we love ourselves and keep going in life.

As we mindfully connect on our mat, we deepen the relationship we have with our body. We listen as our body speaks. When our mind speaks, we can notice that happening as an occurrence — without letting it derail us from this critical connection with our body. By slowing down to the yin portion of practice, we allow time for knowledge that is buried deep in our tissues to come through. We meet our body in these moments. And the body sighs, ‘Thank you.’

Our body wants our attention. These moments of listening are not a box to tick off on a checklist. Some information is embedded in our body that may not reveal itself if we are too quick to turn our focus to the next shiny object or thing to do. Have you ever had something important to tell someone and you felt like they were not really listening? Or they were double booked squeezing you in for the conversation? Did you ever change your mind and decide not to say anything in that moment? Or did you say something anyway, but wish they had had the capacity to be more present? We can’t control other people. But, we do have a say in how we treat ourselves. Let’s start with our relationship with our body.

JOURNAL

• Intuitive feedback. In your journal today, we will deepen the writing to our body that we began on Day 2. While you could do this in your head, you may find that you get a lot more unexpected information when putting pen to paper. Here are a few prompts to explore: ‘Dear body, beyond taste, what kind of foods make you feel good when I eat them?’ ‘Dear body, beyond their appearance or hierarchy in my life, what kind of people in my life make you feel good when I am with them.’

ACTION

• Abyhanga (self massage). This is one of the ayurvedic tools that we mention in our ayurvedic resource page I like to use a refined sesame oil from Banyan Botanicals. Coconut oil can be nice, too. When applying to your body, work the oil in well with a sense of rhythmic strokes. Know that as you do this, you are infusing a sense of care that says ‘I love you. Keep going.’

• Want to treat yourself to something real nice? Our very own, Andrea Emmerich is extraordinary with this! She gave me an abyhanga treatment and it was the ultimate bliss. I know she is traveling this week, but you can reach out to get something on the books if you would like to try it out.

Day 5 | Nervous System Reset

Our breath is a powerful resource to reset our nervous system. By regulating our breath, we begin to shift the body’s chemistry and activate the parasympathetic response. The benefits can be remarkable. Pranayama - or breath practices - have been found to help lower blood pressure, create a feeling of ease which quells anxiety and assist in digestion.

Breath practices also help us practice dharana - single focused attention or concentration that allows us to stay in the moment. In these moments, we interrupt the tyranny of thought. The mind’s pattern to cycle and attach to thought and story halts, and we move from fight or flight response to a body of bliss activation.

For today’s practice, I would love for you to take what we did on the mat by incorporating some simple breath practices.

ACTION

• Practice sama vritti - Even Breathing. Just as you wake up, begin your day with ten deep regulated breathes. Do this before you look at your phone. Practice every morning for the rest of the cleanse.

• Practice nadi shodhna - Alternative Nostril Breathing. As we did in class today, you may also add in this practice. If you don’t remember how, we will be revisiting this throughout the cleanse so you can also add this in later.

JOURNAL

• Write any reflections for where you are on this journey. Or catch up on previous prompts. Today can also be a great day to pause and just breath instead of writing.

BONUS ACTION

• Start your day with a cold shower. Cold showers are an excellent and simple action to try to help regulate the nervous system. I don’t know about you, but I hated this idea. I am often cold in the morning so the thought of a cold shower was not appealing at all. But, I tried it anyway. What surprised me is how quickly I have been able to regulate my body temperature and I love how invigorating it makes me feel.

RECIPE INSPO

Blueberry Chia Pudding - start your day with this protein packed, easy to prep morning snack!

Day 6 | Awaken your Buddha Nature

We have inside of us wisdom that is deeply layered. This Knowledge holds information that we can sense at times and it comes from the lens of love. One of the keys to awakening this wisdom is having curiosity. Another is listening. We come to a point where we don’t have to know everything on the surface. Rather, we practice connecting deeper into our body so that gems of guidance can reveal themselves as needed on our path.

So what does this have to do with cleansing? Over the next couple of days, we will be clearing many toxic forms of debris. Some of them have to do with addressing the tyranny of thought. (We can be so critical of ourselves). One of the greatest gifts we can give as we are still finishing this first week together is to accept and love our body as it is today. Perhaps we can even find humor when we catch that inner critic going at us. Another thing we can do is start to get to know the one who knows that is inside all of us.

Today, I invite you to begin a dialogue with your own inner buddha. The fact that we recognize the qualities of Buddha is an indication that they are reflected somewhere inside of us. This Buddha nature, I believe can be the essence of the one who knows. If for any reason the Buddha nature doesn’t quite resonate with you, then try working with any sense of ‘the one who knows.’

JOURNAL

• Begin a daily dialogue with the one who knows for this week. You may lean into this practice for guidance around your intention, for any feelings coming up on the cleanse or for any situations in your life.

• Try asking the question with your dominant hand and answering the question with your less dominant hand. This is a way we link the right and left sides of the brain. For some, you may gain access to knowledge that is buried in the domain of interconnectedness and All Knowing. For most, you won’t be able to read it. : )

MEDITATION

• Spend five minutes before bedtime connecting to your Buddha nature. You might simply ask or write a question and sleep on it as they say.

ACTION

• Wake up and say or think the words ‘Thank you' as you come into consciousness.

Day 7 | First, Do No Harm

If you really want to change your habits, first do no harm. This is a Buddhist teaching and it has a profound influence on our ability to change habits. Do no harm is about more than just not hitting someone, it’s about our intent. It’s about a vow not to hit someone. There is a stronger force operating within us when we make a vow. With that vow, we agree to practice. We cease to resist the reality of the present moment.

This is also is not a compartmentalization practice. It’s not about accepting in a way that just shoves things under a rug? The idea is that as we become aware of our own reactive tendencies in the present moment and learn to feel into our body more and less into critical thinking and old behavior. Here we begin a real shift of patterning. In her book, Living Beautifully, Pema Chödrön quotes some of her spiritual teachers, Khandro Rinpoche who explains this by saying ‘this commitment protects us from falling into or chasing after unnecessary cravings, unnecessary aggression, and unnecessary indifference.’

Do no harm is also about not harming ourselves. One of the ways this can show up is in the awful things we say about ourselves at times. Too often we get trapped in negative self talk whether it be about our body, our looks, our income, our age, our talent, our work, our fertility, our sex, our marital status or who fucking cares — our number of followers. If I can make one plea this entire cleanse, please join me in committing to catching these moments. Bring awareness to them.

Deep patterns inside of us, also called samskaras will continue to lift. Life will always be shifting and we are meant to learn and grow. So as life happens, see if you can embrace this key. Channel your own Buddha nature. Stay present to the challenges and feel them in your body. Bring them to the mat as needed. On the mat, we will be together again, cultivating self love and saying perhaps, I love you. Keep going.

JOURNAL

• Write out any patterns of toxic thoughts you may have about yourself. Can you correlate events when they tend to come up? What would be the opposite of the toxic thought? Write that out so you will have it when you need it.

• Write a commitment to yourself in any language that resonates with you. You might try something like ‘I am committed to speaking and thinking more kindly about my ______.’

ACTION

• Bedtime meditation - check out Sound for Sleep on my IGTV. Here is a link a Sound for Sleep. We will do one live on IGTV coming soon!

Day 8 | The Science of Better Sleep

More and more, people are becoming aware of the importance of a good night’s rest. In today’s on demand video, I gave a 10-minute talk on some of the science behind sleep as it relates to our cleanse as well as how we can create a nightly ritual for sweeter dreams. (See Day 8 On-Demand Video/Minute 37 . There are many contributing factors that influence our sleep and loads of scientific research as to the health benefits. English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, Matthew Walker goes into great detail about sleep in his Master Class, The Science of Better Sleep. I highly recommend listening to this if you have the Master Class app. Walker believes that sleep is the foundation for good health in our body. He correlates a strong connection between sleep health with immune health, hormone health and cardiovascular health. And as it relates to our cleanse, sleep absolutely affects our gut health.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, there are ‘hedonic hotspots (which) are brain sites where particular neurochemical stimulations causally amplify the hedonic impact of sensory rewards, such as “liking” for sweetness.’ When we don’t get enough sleep, these hotspots light up and our behavior follows. Part of this has to do with our hormonal body. We have two appetite controlling hormones in our body - leptin and ghrelin. Leptin provides satiety cues alerting us when we are full. It gives us a feeling that we are satisfied and no longer hungry. Ghrelin on the other hand, tells us when we are hungry. High concentrations of ghrelin will tell us that we want to eat more, even if we’ve had enough to eat. We won’t feel a sense fullness and thus we may eat to excess. In his Master Class, Walker says ‘what studies have taught us is that a lack of sleep can change the balance of these appetite regulating hormones in deleterious ways that can push us towards a path of weight gain or even obesity.

So it’s not surprising then that insufficient sleep can adversely affect our gut microbiome. It starts with the chemistry of the body. Studies have found that lack of sleep activates the amygdala to fire when someone sees sugary, unhealthy foods — alas the hedonic hotspots get stimulated. Studies also have shown that sleep deprivation elevates cortisol held in our body. Because insufficient sleep negatively affects our pre-frontal cortex, the ripple effect wreaks havoc on our body. Our impulse control becomes impaired. We choose unhealthy, less nourishing foods and this, over time adversely affects our body. We end up with problems in our gut.

The good news is that once we are aware of some of these things, then we can do something about it. Here are a few ideas for Sleep Hygiene rituals.

ACTIONS

• Plan a sleep schedule where you go to bed and wake up at the same time consistantly.

• Have your last meal at least one hour, ideally 2-3 hours before bed.

• Power down devices 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

• Replace blue lights/screen time with candle light and soft area lighting.

• Lower temperature in your home. Our body’s temperature needs to lower 1 degree to drop into sleep.

• Take a warm bath. This will actually help to lower your body temperature. More on that in my chat talk today.

• Wash your feet, moisturize them.

• Drink Calm (calcium magnesium) tea, ginger tea, or an herbal tea you love.

• Play music that helps you wind down.

• Read a book. Like a real book with paper and pages.

• Write out any concerns and finish with things you are grateful for.

• Keep bedding clean and fresh on a regular schedule.

• When you wake up, before your eyes open, say ‘thank you’ and take 10 deep breaths.

• Fluff your sheets and if weather permits, open a window for an hour and let your room get fresh air.

• Light some palo santo if it strikes your fancy.

• Get sunlight on your face early in the morning.

• Get a little exercise early in the day. Even if it’s not your entire work out or yoga practice. Try to walk, stretch or move your body. This helps reset your body’s rhythms.

DAY 9 | Value Clearing

Value: noun - the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something

One of the foundational tools we can have in this life is to get super clear on our values. Once we shed light on our value system, we can look at our our actions and intentions and check to see — does this align to my values? I love the definition of value because it expresses a domain of worthiness ultimately draws in a sense of unity. It brings us together with that which we are really here to experience. So having a clear sense of our values can be an incredible litmus test and help guide us clearly on our path.

In practice today, we invoked ‘Satnam’ - a simple mantra to align to truth. Truth is an excellent starting point to guide us to uncover our values. As I talked about in our chat today, I had an experience many years ago that really challenged me to live in my truth. In doing so, I left a situation. At the time, a part of me resisted leaving because it was rubbing up against another part of my value system - commitment. As I reflect on this from our chat, I am able to see now that for me (and so many of us), I was holding a commitment to something that wasn’t aligned with my truth. When we do that, we are denying a commitment to ourselves.

This brings me to an important note about boundaries. The people who do not like your boundaries are the same people who benefited from you not having any. I totally got that from my friend Alexa Silvaggio on instagram. : )

But, I digress. As we find our values, they align in our heart space. As cleanser Thuy said today ‘Follow your heart and you will always win.’ So let’s dive in today with an exploration and re-dedication to our values and discover how your values align to your word of 2022.

JOURNAL

• Choose a value that you wish to focus on and write about why it is important to you now.

• How does your value align with your word on our cleanse?

• Do you see that your values are showing up in your relationships, personally and professionally?

ACTION

• Moving forward, when big things come your way, ask yourself ‘does this align to my values?’

Day 10 | Thank you, India

The origins of yoga date back more that 5000 years in Northern India. And some historians are finding that it goes back much, much further. The history is vast and deep with epic tomes of sacred texts that planted the very seed for our practice today. Over time, many eras of the yoga tradition have emerged. As modern yoga is rooted in exploring a physical-spiritual connection, we have this gift of yoga to help us come to the mat and do what I believe we are meant to do - meet ourselves.

Today, I would love to take moment and acknowledge all of the things that have supported our path, and all of the souls who walked this path before us. From the native Chumash and Tongva tribes of Los Angeles to B.K.S. Iyengar to Ghandi. From Maya Angelou to Florence Nightingale to Aretha Franklin. And to all of the influences who have shaped our lives, let us pause today and recognize the gifts of our life and just how much has been given to us.

With India in mind, we have special guest, Priya Narayanan joining our Cleanse Chat to share with us more about Indian culture and food. Priya grew up in Kerala, home to Ayurveda and was brought up with a lifestyle which included eating in a way that nourishes the body and fosters community. I hope you’ll take a moment to listen to her talk if you missed it - Day 10 On Demand, Minute 37 And next Saturday the 22nd, Priya will return to the chat to guide us in a cooking session!

JOURNAL

• Reflect on who has influenced your path today. Are there people who helped etch out space for you to do what you are doing? Are there people you admire who inspire you in some way? Make a list of all of the people who lit the torch on your path.

• How do the people on our list align to your word for 2022 or your values?

• Write a gratitude letter to any of these people whether they are living or passed. Let the heart space open a bit and remember to breathe as you write. Breath is the unifying force in all of us.

ACTION

• Next Saturday, join our chat and we will make this Lemon Zucchini Dal recipe. Get your ingredients this week and we will cook together Saturday the 22nd. If you have a slow cooker, great! If not, you can also prepare this in a pot.

Day 11 | Come, Let’s Have Tea

Congratulations - you’ve made it half way through!! I am just wow'd by your dedication and presence throughout this Cleanse.

Today we were reminded of the essence of Mara. We return to the story about the Buddha gathering where a dark figure would be lurking at the edge of the group. Buddha’s loyal attendant, Ananda would see Mara first and alert Buddha that Mara was present. Buddha would go to Mara and look him straight in the eye and say: 'I see you, Mara. Come, let's have tea.' And all the while, even as the Buddha became enlightened, Mara would appear from time to time.

So take comfort today and know that you are not alone. That any darkness we see is here for us to learn and grow. As we meet ourselves on the mat and really get to know who we are, we may be able to find a pause from reactivity, and say to the darkness, What are you here to teach me? Come, let’s have tea. Today is an invitation to see any resistances you are experiencing within yourself — and without trying to change someone else or a situation, return to your inner landscape. Sit with the sensations and see if you can build an inner reserve of security. A sense of yourself that feels capable to say, ‘I see you, Mara. Come, let’s have tea.’

JOURNAL

• Write a letter to Mara. Ask what Mara is here to teach you? See if you get any insight. And perhaps do this as an alternating right and left handed writing exercise.

ACTION

• Meditate by sitting quietly, perhaps light a candle and imagine the mantra ‘Shanti’ (which means peace).

• Have a cup of your favorite tea — perhaps this Easy Golden Milk Latte — and think of Mara and how brave you are sitting and sipping and showing up; awake.

You’ve got this. You are extremely loved and cared for, even when the mind doesn’t know it.

Day 12 | Catch Your Breath

Today is a day to catch your breath. Feel free to catch up on any of the writing exercises and action suggestions. Try some dry brushing or self massage. That would be nice! Find tips on our Ayurvedic Resource page. Or simply relax, breathe, and enjoy the day!

Day 13 | Inside the Practice

Have you ever noticed how yoga is called a practice? It’s not really referred to as a class so much as a practice. This is because it’s not really a one-and-done sort of situation. Yoga is something we practice regularly and it can provide firm bedrock for us to become stronger, more flexible, more compassionate, and ultimately, it can help relieve suffering.

So, today we return to the practice of clearing the chattering mind as a way to explore inside the practice. This begins with awareness. One of the very foundational messages in the Yoga Sutras by Pantanjali that I repeat time and again is the second sutra which states — yoga is the cessation of chattering thoughts or chitta vritti.

In my Mindful Meditation training with Tara Brach, she sums this up the power of our thoughts succinctly:

No one can harm you more than an unwise thought.

And no one can help you more than a wise thought.

So, we have this practice of yoga where we expand our awareness over time and notice our thoughts. Because we are born with an evolutionary design towards a negativity bias, I want to remind everyone that you are not bad just because your thoughts can be shitty sometimes. They are thoughts passing through. They can be filled with historical and environmental debris. As we wake up and see this, we have the opportunity to shape new thoughts.

JOURNAL

• What are some of the thoughts that keep busting in that seem harmful? Write them out as stream of consciously as you wish.

• How might you reframe those thoughts?

• What wise thoughts have you had that have helped you in the past? This may be in the form of words you have also heard from someone else. Create a little Wise Words diary or folder.

• If you are doing the Mind Mapping/stream of conscious writing exercise from our first week, then continue with that and keep noticing the themes. With awareness and disciplined practice, we can bring about change.

ACTION

• Write a sticky note that says ‘I love you. Keep going.’

• Write other sticky notes with wise thought messages on them.

• As you eat something nourishing, notice the thoughts and acknowledge with ‘I’m taking care of my body right now.'

Day 14 | A Love Tonic

We have within us a powerful resource that when tapped can provide great relief and a general sense of well-being. This resource is LOVE and the practice we are guided to today is called ‘metta’ - a Pali word which means loving kindness. The practice of metta can be a subtle and yet potent offering of the heart and mind. An elixer for our spirit. Today I mentioned how metta may even help with instincts towards road rage. Instead of getting annoyed in traffic— (that’s just low hanging fruit) — why not try something sweeter and more nutrient dense? Try the road less traveled and adopt a metta practice. Wish all of the people around you a sense of love and security. Well beyond the 101, we can do this in our own home, in our community and on a global level, in our world.

How we treat others non-verbally is a very felt thing. Most of us have experienced moments when someone ‘sucks the energy out of a room.’ Or when someone has a crush on somebody, how the energy can be palpable without so much as a hello. We feel 'the vibe’ as our awareness opens. And this vibrating energy that radiates from our being.

So why not try dosing on a little love tonic from time to time?

We come to the mat to meet ourselves and we practice metta because in the end, it is who we are — consciousness and love.

ACTION - METTA OFFERINGS

• Pay attention to moments when you see strangers and without telling them, quietly offer them love.

• Pay attention to situations that tend to cause you irritation and constriction, try a moment of love sent in the way of the source of irritation.

• Think of someone special who may be in need of some good energy and quietly meditate on them being surrounded in love and a sense of security.

• Sit quietly tonight. Listen to the Devi Prayer and meditate on our entire world and the people in it feeling love and a sense of security.

Day 15 | Come hOMe

When we come to the mat, we really get to come home to ourselves, to meet ourselves. There can be a sense of letting go, a sense of clearing, and a sense of re-organizing in the molecules of our body and mind. Similarly, we can do this in our outer world, in our own homes, too!

Today we take this inner work we’ve been doing on our cleanse and we bring it into our living environment as explore the practice of Clean & Clear Living with Chelsi Kosarin, and the art of Feng Shui.

So what exactly is Feng Shui? Today, Chelsi shared her favorite description saying ‘the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui harmonizes people with their environment using energy forces or linking the destiny of the person to his or her or their environment.’ Chelsi adopts a western approach to Feng Shui, and in our talk she touched on many classical elements such as the use of the Bagua map. And as a life long home organizer, Chelsi goes into great depth about the three-fold process of clean living which includes: purging, clearing and organizing.

The first of these three steps is essential to getting into this practice of clean living. As she points out, if you want to do yoga and you just buy the clothes and the mat and all the accoutrement, but you never get on the mat, then we are missing a critical part of the practice. Well in Feng Shui and home organizing, the first step of purging is that critical element of putting practice into action. To truly clear a space, we can’t just buy more things to hold more clutter. We take the time to do a proper inventory of letting go first. This practice of letting go has a ritual element. That we honor all of the things in our home as holding energy is an important part of the process.

In our on demand video today, I have included her chat at the end. You can watch the video here For now, I will share with you a few suggestions to align your own home environment.

JOURNAL

• Write down three words that describe how you would like your home space to feel.

• Write down an area where you feel you need to do some clearing. For ex: choose a closet or pantry.

ACTION

• Begin the purging process in that space you have designated as your first place to re-align your home. Ask yourself - have I used this in past six months? If not, is there a reason to hang onto it? Maybe it’s seasonal or maybe it’s sentimental? If it’s sentimental, then ask yourself - why am I holding onto this? If it has memories, but you are willing to let it go, then give voice to those memories and emotions. You can lovingly clear your connection to the these tangible items.

• The Give Away. Consider how you will let go of these items. You might donate to The Salvation Army or Goodwill. Or try Up-Cycling them to friends. Buy Nothing is a gift economy platform that is a great place to consider donating.

Day 16 | Tripping Over Joy

A body that inhabits happiness is one that can weather many storms. A body that knows happiness from time to time may struggle more with those many, many storms.

Today we explore two different types of happiness that we may experience. The first one is called ‘pamoja,’ a Pali word that means delight. Pamoja is a type of joy that derives pleasure from our senses. This can happen when we receive a compliment, see a beautiful sunset, eat something delicious, get a hug, or when the pandemic ends. It happens when something outside of us stimulates a response of joy. Pamoja is a lovely thing to notice as we catch glimpses of our own joy. Plus, can you imagine the global heat-breaking-open-moment that will happen when this effing pandemic ends? Let’s hold that vision.

The second type of joy is called sukha. This is a Pali word that means happiness, ease, joy, or bliss. At a glance, sukha has a similar meaning to pamoja, and yet sukha goes much deeper. Sukha is happiness through Natural Presence. It’s not rooted in anything outside of us. With sukha, there is a long lasting joy as we come to know who we really are — love. And this joy can bring about a great feeling of contentment AND an ability to surrender to what is happening in any given moment. With each surrender, the heart space grows and we feel an inner knowing that we will be okay no matter what.

Today in our chat - (now available on-demand), I shared this poem, Tripping Over Joy by Hafiz.

So there can be a shadow side to pamoja as when we find ourselves grasping to our script or all of our chess moves. This is not to discount pamoja. We can bring more awareness to what we learn in those moments as we discussed in our chat. And in the meantime, we can come to our mat, pause and really meet ourselves. This is essence of the Yoga Body Cleanse.

JOURNAL

• Describe some of the things that bring you joy.

• Write any reflections you have on the poem that was shared.

ACTION

• As you notice moments of joy, say to yourself ‘Joy is in me now.’

• Notice if you are able to connect to an inner resource of joy as more challenging things come your way. Don’t be hard on yourself if this doesn’t happen. It can be really great to simply notice your awareness of ‘what if I could feel joy now?’ Please note that it may be more appropriate to replace the word joy with ‘inner ease’ in certain moments of difficulty.

Day 17 | The Triple Filter Test

Toxins come in many forms. There are food toxins and environmental toxins and we also have toxins of the mind and heart. This last one — toxins of the mind and heart — can be so insidious. They can live inside of us and they can spread like a communicable disease . That is, until they reach a wise person’s ears.

The toxin we are uncovering today is gossip. Gossip can be incredibly seductive. It can seemingly repair an insecurity or resentment with respect to what we are gossiping about. Or it can give a sense of belonging and connection with the person we are pitching our story to. But, unfortunately that intimacy is then built on a foundation of unreliable trust. How do we know they wouldn’t gossip about you? Now, some might say, ‘But what if I need to unload what is going on with me?’ There are ways to communicate feelings about others so that it doesn’t cause harm and it’s important that we have tools for doing this.

We can begin by bringing more awareness to what is really going on inside of us. I was so taken by our chat today as we illuminated the many facets of how to attend to this almost primal instinct of gossip. Fellow cleanser and chat host, Chelsi chimed in that when she hears gossip, she often pivots the conversation to find out what is really going on with the person who is doing the gossip. Right there, she helps to break the chain of spreading poison. She invites them in to be more honest and vulnerable with what is really going on.

We can also look to the story of Socrates who had his own method for breaking the chain. A method that is quite similar to the Buddhist practice of Wise Speech. The story goes like this:

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”

“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple Filter Test?”

“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you’re about to tell me is true?”

“No,” the man said. “Actually I just heard about it and …”

“Alright,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let us try the second filter; the filter of Goodness. Is what you’re about to tell me about my friend something good?”

“No; on the contrary.”

“So,” Socrates continued, “You want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there is one filter left; the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”

“No, not really!”

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”

I can almost hear someone thinking ‘because it’s fun?’ I get it. And yet, what I’m really proposing here is an invitation to freedom. How free do you want to be? What would it feel like to get to a place where we meet ourselves and don’t need that quick fix of gossip to get through a difficult moment? Because on the other side of this is what it’s doing to others. Our actions have impact. And gossip run riot holds a similar vibration to that of a bully.

Do these instincts ever fully go away? Maybe not. And it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person for having these primal instincts. Gossip has been around for a long, long time. Look at Socrates. But, when we know better, we do better. And this returns us to the practice of meeting ourselves.

JOURNAL

• Write about anyone you have gossiped about.

• Now, from your highest sense of self to their highest sense of self — from soul to soul, write them a letter and wish them well. In this way, you may start to release the tangle you have with them and free up space inside of yourself.

ACTIONS

• If gossip is breeding envy, begin to meditate on this person getting everything they desire. Do this every day for a week.

• Drink some extra water. Subtle body toxins don’t always feel so great as they process and release.

Day 18 | Laughing Buddha

The image of a laughing Buddha can awaken a feeling of joy within all of us when the mind gives pause and takes it in. And yet, the Buddha knew very well many sorrows and many challenges. One of the Four Noble Truths which Buddha taught is that in life, there is suffering or dukka. Now, you may recall that the word for happiness is sukha. So we learn to move through both joy and suffering — sukha and dukka — and sometimes we hold them both. That in any given moment, both can exist. Even at the same time.

Today we invoke sukha again as we honor Thich Nhat Hanh who passed yesterday. He was a great Zen Master and global peace leader who taught us to bring a gentle half smile to our face as a way to foster happiness. And so we try that on today. A little warmth amidst life in motion. This doesn’t mean that the entire practice is pleasurable (or that the sound of chain saws outside my window as I was teaching was not distracting). But, can we sense a half smile coming on? Can we be the laughing Buddha? Even if just for some moments? Let’s. And let’s do this as we consider how we will continue these practices in life.

JOURNAL

• Begin writing out ways you plan to continue this cleanse.

ACTIONS

• Choose something you do every day like washing your face or making tea and bring a half smile as you do these actions.

• Think about how you would like to transition with food as we complete our cleanse. Consider your shopping list and how you might do some food prep to set yourself up well for the week. And the next time you pick up those items or do the food prep, see if you can bring a half smile to your face and remember the power you have as you have moved so gracefully through this process.

From half smile to full smile, I would like to thank Priya Narayanan for leading us in a dal-icious cooking event on zoom! I learned so many things. And if you missed it, here is a simple take away. Wash your rice and lentils/moong beans about five times before you use them. You might be surprised when you see how much foam comes out. By washing them like this (particularly the moong beans), you will help to release enzymes that cause bloating.

Day 19 | Stimulation Junkie

Day by day, we are working on chipping away at stressors on our body. In addition to food triggers, we can have a need to do more, be more, and have more in such a way that it becomes toxic on our physical and emotional body. With awareness and practice, we begin to treat this stimulation junkie tendency and interrupt the toxic cycle by slowing down. We down regulate to rejuvenate. The process may seem frustrating at first — like when I go home to the south and I feel like it’s a real slooooow check out situation at the grocery store. What if the problem in that impatient moment isn’t the other person? What if it’s me?

We return to the theme of compassion as we slow down in our yoga practice. With compassion, we cultivate a sense of realness of the other person. We pull out of projections and sense who’s there. With compassion, there is always an action. It can be anything from 'taking the call' and listening to someone who is suffering to offering a physical gesture of support. It can be as simple as standing in line to pay for my kale, taking a deep breath (compassion) and offering kindness (metta) to the person helping me.

In a recent podcast interview on Ten Percent Happier, psychotherapist and author, Mark Epstein said that ‘From a Psychodynamic perspective, the development of compassion is dependent on ones relationship to one’s own inner aggression or inner anger.’ As we resolve these tendencies and cultivate compassion, we create positive shifts in the neuroplasticity of the brain. Through kind actions of compassion, we activate a different part of the brain, an area that is connected to our reward system. These actions not only help us serve the space of someone else’s suffering, they have a positive effect on our own biology.

Caring to care is the way in to compassion. And it is not to be confused with pity. Pity is different than compassion and can actually cause harm. Pity implies hierarchy. It suggests an unequal footing in a way that says I’m better than you, whereas compassion says, I see you, let me help.

Whether our exile is always needing to get more/be more/do more or checking out or being intolerant, or othering other people, compassion is a key to recovering our inner bliss. And it can have a positive impact in our world.

JOURNAL

• Write about the many ways you feel connected to others.

• What are some ways you have or could show compassion?

ACTION

• Cultivate a breathing practice first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This can be so simple. Take 5-10 slow, deep, even breaths.

• Build on your breathing exercise by adding it in at traffic lights and while on your computer.

• The next time someone is in dire need, instead of asking them what you can do to help, try to think of something yourself and show up in that way.

Day 20 | Always, We Begin Again

You might have heard me say a time or two that tomorrow is definitely the class to come to. Well, I do mean that. It really is the one. This will be the class where we begin again with our special Yoga Body Cleanse 4.0 Community, or sangha, as a touchstone for wellbeing. As a sort of ritual even.

I also want to share that today is the day to live. Today is an invitation to take in all that is coming your way and to say to yourself, in any given moment: this is happening for me, not to me. We do our best on this cleanse to clear tendencies of resistance that can build up a residue of fear inside of us. Tendencies to plan those ‘thousands of serious moves’ that cause us to hold on too tightly. We begin to release the grip and practice non-grasping or aparigraha. And in those moments, perhaps we meet ourselves.

Cultivating a beginners mind, on and off the mat, can be a valuable tool for us to release this grip. A real curiosity and interest can free the mind as we realize we actually don’t know everything. A beginner focuses in on what is happening in the present moment. With that mindset, we can’t detach and ‘dial it in’ so much. This currency of listening is so valuable that as we evolve, we know when to pivot and when to stay the course. We realize that we are a miracle on this path of life of life. We slay the dragon of fear, we stand up and we begin again.

As we free ourselves from the grip of grasping, and begin again with grace, we awaken to happiness of a free heart.

‘Always, We Begin Again’ is a religious teaching by St. Benedict that can be applied in a secular way. It can be as simple as bringing awareness and presence to any given moment and choosing to move through things with grace. It can be a remembrance to anchor to our core values and word of intent. And yes, it can be a practice of connecting to something greater. What is important is that we reflect on these things in a way that makes sense to our inner truth. Satnam.

JOURNAL

• Write about a time you had to begin again and learned something valuable.

• Write about how you might begin again with your practice as you transition from our 21-Day commitment.

• Reflect on the story about Angela that I shared in today’s chat. (See Day 20 link, minute 34). How might you bring some of that spirit to something new in your life?

ACTION

• Make a shopping list for nutritious foods that support your vitality and celebration of life.

Day 21 | And So, We Meet Ourselves

The great clearing of a cleanse like this is intended to help us reset and to feel a firm footing on our path as we transition back into our day to day life. And that we connect to a space inside of us that knows peace, an inner wisdom that knows our potential. That we live our lives and take good care of our body so we can show up and share our gifts with the world. That we connect with each other and release the toxins of isolation. That we see the realness in others and yes, that we meet ourselves.

The truth is we can only evade ourselves for so long. Our body wants our attention. This is why learning to listen to our body is so important. During these past 21 days, I have seen you show up to the best of our ability, mindfully and with an embodied power. I hope you take a moment and breathe that in. I am so grateful for our community and all the inspiration you emanate. And for those of you who had to modify your participation for this reason or that, know that we are all perfectly imperfect and life f%cking happens, too.

Today we begin again and tomorrow we begin again. And in these days, we set out do things that nourish us. We have been living in some wild times. And yet, there is still so much beauty in our world. I am telling you, I see it in nature, I see it in Rumi, and I see it in all of you.

How we begin things matters. And how we complete things matters, too. (I won’t say ‘end’ in this case because this is more of a completing moment than an ending one). So as we close Yoga Body Cleanse 4.0, here are a few powerful tools and ideas to complete your cleanse, mindfully.

Trust the potential of your path. 🤍

JOURNAL

• Take a moment and write out what you learned from our cleanse. Light a candle as you write these.

• What is something you’ve done either on the cleanse or anything in your life that you feel proud of?

• Write the words “I am” followed by your word. Write the words “I value” followed by your values.

• Do those things that you just wrote spark ideas for the potential of your path?

ACTION

• Get an accountability partner. If you would like to send me your name, I can even assign you as partners. I’m happy to do it. You can set up simple guidelines like texting each other your yoga schedule and a few life goals each Monday morning (before yoga). : )

• Join our WhatsApp group! This is a space where we can stay connected. I send little reminders about classes here. And mainly we can share as a group - recipe ideas, and other nourishing ways we stay on our path.

• Palo santo your living space and open the windows!